


Torchwood 3 (feat. aliens and the hidden gay agenda)

by Anonymous



Category: Banana Bus Squad, Torchwood
Genre: Aliens, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, BIG character changes (au in an au), Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, Gen, Injury, No Season 1 Episode 2, OOC characters, Torchwood AU, Torchwood One (briefly), Torchwood References, Torchwood Three, also don't worry main character death is for Jon, er - Freeform, fixing and adding things, hidden character information that is revealed as i think of it, moreso than the au part itself, or is it???, since im trying to fit them into already established characters, sorry gamers but im not up for writing abt alien sex gas, sorry kinda hard to write them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:20:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23353099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Working for Torchwood was never an easy thing to do, but Jon thought that he was a good boss. Sure, there were four members of the team and one coffee-boy, but no one had died since HIS Torchwood 3 boss, so his reviews should be 5-stars, really.Evan felt trapped. In his job, on the plant, in time itself. But, he had a job to do and he would do it, even if it would cost him something he never knew he had.It's difficult working in a job when you're smack dab in the middle of the totem pole, but Smitty knew there was something more for him outside the police.After all, aliens are seen, but not heard.
Relationships: None
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I know I'm anon, but I don't have the guts to post this on my named account (irl friends probably know abt it). I've recently gotten into Torchwood, and this idea came to me at 3 in the morning. So, like all ideas given to me past midnight, I wrote something. Idk how far I'm gonna take this series, or if it'll be a series at all, but I'll try and write something.

* * *

He hated feeling invisible.

In every other job he had, he was always somehow in the center of people. Example, his job at Torchwood 1 was as the Head Archivist, a position at the top of the chain. He had access to most of the tower, was close with the Director, and had people working under him. There was little he couldn't do and even things he couldn't do he could always ask the Director for help.

Of course, this all came crashing down when Torchwood 1 was devoured by flames, devoured by greed and then by a tangible enemy. The Director had lied, had lied to everyone really, which shouldn't have made him feel better but it did.

There had been whispers within his department about people missing, people going to floor 55 and not returning. He didn't pay much attention, as there was nothing on floor 55 that was dangerous or particularly worrying. It was a storage room and while he wasn't allowed access, he knew that the other Department Heads couldn't access it as well.

But that Monday morning of Christmas Day proved the rumors right.

He had been on his way out the back door when the screams started. He turned on his heel and ran back to the doors he had exited through, when a burning heat hit him in the side and leg and he saw black. When he woke up he could feel heat through the door and crashes and screams. Ramming the door with his shoulder, he ran back into the building and was greeted with an inferno. Racing to the doors that said 'Archives', he ran up the stairs. Reaching the first main room, he saw his people on the ground, eyes wide with shock. Feeling a slow numbness come across his thoughts, he looked around the room.

There were papers strewn across the room, with most of them ripped or otherwise destroyed. However, the room that mattered the most was the sublevel. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he ran past the bodies of his people on the floor and leaned against the walls to the door that was unmarked. Bending down and letting the scanner see his eye he began to shut down his emotions until he could process them later. Door clicking open, he let out a bitter laugh.

All the alien artifacts and machinery, the weapons and toys, all remained perfectly intact. Quickly grabbing a duffle bag off to the side that was usually used for transport, he grabbed what he thought would be most important to him. His personal guns and pieces he used daily were put into the bag, quickly followed by some items he didn't want Torchwood 2 or 3 to get their hands on, one such item being an alien phone.

Taking one last look around the room and moving outside the doorway, he opened a panel on the wall and pressed the button. Immediately, there was a barrier between where he was standing and the room. Letting the scanner scan his eye again, he briefly thought about going to higher floors to see if he could do anything. Taking a gun from his bag, he took a deep breath and left the first floor archives, resolutely staring ahead.

It took a long while but when he eventually made it to floor 55 he screamed, the first noise he made while in the building. Metal lounge chairs were strewn around, most broken with sparks coming off the machinery by their sides. What really made him scream were the people on the ground, people with metal and flesh, people who were wide-eyed and not moving on the ground. Hearing a soft sound from his right, he inhaled sharply. 

One of his friends laid there, a strange metal headpiece on and eyes teared up. Rushing over, he laid down and held him, comforted him. Hearing a metallic grinding noise, he saw out of the corner of his eye a robot rolling in. Hand coming up immediately, he shot the creature, blank eyes staring at the wire exposed. Looking down at his friend again, he saw his eyes were closed and a small smile on his face. This snapped him back into reality, one where he was in a burning building and with no idea what to do.

Getting back to his feet, he ran out to a window to see if there was anyone who had arrived. Spotting numerous fire trucks and cop cars, he pushed up the sleeve of his jacket to reveal a thick metal band with a small control panel on it. He hit a few buttons and vanished, a few flakes of dust as his final presence in a tower burning with despair.

Trying to get employed at Torchwood 3 was mostly a spur of the moment decision. His records showed that he wasn't dead, and with his talents and experience, it made sense that Torchwood 3 would want to employ him, seeing as they had no Archivist at all. His employment took awhile, but it finally happened. Determined to erase any memory of his former job, he dressed casual, but not too casual, sticking to jeans, a dress shirt, and his red jacket.

His new boss was nice, just on the right side of professional, but there was no attachment. His new coworkers didn't treat him with hostility but with a boy-next-door attitude. There were almost no connections between them and while it would have been nice to have someone like Torchwood 1's Director (except without the lies) to confide in, it was better than being surrounded by people who didn't trust you to not immediately turn and shoot their back.

He hated his new job, but it was the only thing keeping him from sinking back into memories, ones of Torchwood 1 and his long life before that.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

When Jon woke up, the first thing he heard was the screeching of the dinosaur and Evan's attempts to try and calm it down.

Groaning and rolling out of his bed, he got ready to face the day. He grabbed his scarf off the hanger and like he did every day, checked his vortex manipulator which, as it had for the past 5 years, didn't work. Sighing, he climbed up the ladder into his office, where he immediately sat down and watched as Evan succeeded in calming down the giant bird.

Jon thrived off of routine, but as long as it was him causing chaos when the chance arose, he was fine with a little disruption to his routine. Seeing Evan glance up to his office, he did a little wave and saw Evan roll his eyes before making his way into the Hub's kitchen, preparing his amazing coffee. Checking the clock on the wall and the outside CCTV footage, he saw Craig arrive directly at 7:30 on the dot. Waving again, he saw Craig wave back and immediately head to his desk to begin working on a project. Seeing Evan return a couple minutes later with three mugs of coffee Jon relaxed, pleased that the routine was not disturbed. After coffee was handed out and working was beginning to get done, the other two members of Torchwood 3 arrived.

John walked in first, giving a lazy salute to Jon who returned it, and settled by the medical bay, checking up on something he had running. Ryan came in after, nodding politely at Jon and carefully making his way to his desk, the gauntlet already there for him to work on. Evan appeared soon after they arrived and placed two mugs of coffee by them before returning to the archives. Jon swiveled in his chair before casting a forlorn look at the pile of papers stacked at his desk.

The day went by almost normally, Rift alerts needing one or two people sent out, genuine tourists walking into their front, paperwork being filled out and sent. Nothing big from the police, a few cases of robbery that didn’t really turn out to be much except for a few small alien artifacts which Evan filed and put into the archives.

At 7:25, a phone call from the police threw the team into action. Jon grabbed a coat off the hanger, made sure his scarf was secured, and ran down the steps to the invisible lift with John, Ryan, and Craig on his heels. They ran through the rain and got into the SUV. Jon drove while Craig gave directions and Ryan held the gauntlet. When they reached their destination, there was a gaggle of cops hanging around before their leader shooed them away. Jon took the lead and made their way to the body.

"Couldn't have died while it was sunny out huh?" Jon asked sarcastically, eyebrow raised as if expecting an answer. John snorted while Craig and Ryan kept their focus on the body.

"Yeah man, at least have the courtesy to die inside if it's gonna be raining out, yeah?" John asked, grinning at Jon who grinned back.

"Alright boys, knock it off. Shouldn't you be respecting the dead and all that?" Craig asked, turning to look at the two.

"Well, he won't be dead in a little bit. After we finish questioning him, maybe we'll see an improvement in their manner." Ryan drawled, before motioning Jon and John to move closer. The team huddled around the body and watched as Ryan put the gauntlet on and closed his eyes, concentrating. Hearing two gasps, John took out a stopwatch and clicked it, briefly watching the hand move, before turning his focus back on the body.

"Hey, hey, it's ok. You're safe here. You’re dead, but we have a few questions we need to ask." Craig soothed, trying to calm the person who was tossing around.

“I’m dead?!” they asked frantically, struggling to get up while Craig tried to keep his calm.

“Yes, you are dead. Do you remember anything about what happened right before you died? Like, a person or something we could use to identify someone?” Craig asked, briefly glancing up at John who held up one finger.

“Uh, n-no. They stabbed me from behind. Oh god, I was stabbed!” the person screamed, struggles resuming.

“Thirty seconds.” John said.

“Nothing, nothing at all? Is there anyone who might have had a grudge or something against you?” Craig asked, shaking the person’s shoulders a bit.

“Oh god. Oh god I was dead. Oh god.” The person just whined, causing Craig to huff with frustration.

“Five seconds.”

“What did you see?” Jon asked, crouching down next to the body.

“Wh-what?”

“What did you see when you died?” Jon asked again, causing the other three teammates to send questioning looks to each other.

“Nothing. I saw nothing.” said the person, eyes slipping shut. Ryan let their head hit the pavement again while John hit the button on the stopwatch.

“Well, a few seconds more than last time.” He slipped the timer back into a pocket and bent down to inspect the body a bit more.

Ryan just let out a breath and placed the gauntlet into a case that he brought.

“Maybe next time, don’t tell them they’re dead.” John offered, smirking at Craig who glared.

“Remember the last time this happened and I didn’t tell them? They spent half the time wanting to see their family and track the person down. We hardly got anything out of them.”

John just raised his hands in mock surrender, before standing back up again.

“Well, looking at the body a bit closer, it does seem like the wound was from back to front. Great, just great. We got someone who could give us a bit of information and he was stabbed from behind.” John complained, pacing a bit.

Jon stood up and addressed the rest of the team. “Listen, I know this is tedious work, but at least it’s better than hunting Weevils for the fifth time this week, yeah? Let’s get this stuff to the SUV and get back to the Hub.”

When the rest of his team had their back to him, he looked around a bit before setting his eyes on one level of the nearby parking garage. Giving a little salute to the figure there in the shadows, he turned around and caught up with his team.

His interest was spiked and he couldn’t wait to see what would happen.

\--------

Smitty just wanted to take a long nap and not wake up.

Sitting at his desk in the police office was the worst way to start off the night shift on a rainy Wednesday. There was nothing to do except sit around and wait for something big to happen. While he wasn’t a small fry at the station, he wasn’t big enough to get sent out on tough missions. Not weak enough to be sent out for the little things, but not big enough to be sent out on the important things. It was a constant state of limbo for him and it had been the routine for a while.

“Smitty!” A voice yelled, causing Smitty to jump up a bit in his chair, startled at the call. His boss walked in, a stack of folders in one arm and a cup of coffee in the other.

“Smitty, I’m going to need you to go out with units 3 and 5 to go investigate a murder. The objective is what it usually is, get information. Get your gear and head to the front.” He said, placing the thin folder on Smitty’s desk before walking away.

Opening the folder and looking at the information in it, Smitty grabbed his supplies and headed to the front of the building and got into the police car waiting. It was a murder with no witnesses, the only information given was from a pedestrian who walked by the alley and saw the victim lying on the ground.

Reaching the scene, he left the folder behind and after grabbing his stuff, left the car and began to work. Putting up the tape and blending with the two units, the only break Smitty got was when unit 3’s leader began shooing the police away from the tape and moved them to the side. He saw a large SUV come by and park right by the tape and four people got out. Leaning to the side he asked one of his co-workers who it was.

“That right there is Torchwood. It’s some special-ops government group that takes care of a lot of things. They just kinda barge into investigations and no one really stops them. Whatever case they get involved in, it’s sealed and not talked about again. I’m surprised you haven’t seen them out in the field.” He said, raising an eyebrow at Smitty who shrugged.

Noticing the parking garage that could give him a better view of what they were doing, Smitty hastily excused himself and ran to the building, racing up sets of stairs. Reaching what he calculated to be a good vantage point, he walked to the slight ledge by the wall and looked down.

He noticed that two of the group were crouched by the body, while the others were standing. Squinting through the rain, he saw the person closest to the head take a metal glove and put it underneath the body’s head. Seeing the body’s eyes snap open sent Smitty reeling back, shock evident on his face. Shaking himself out of his daze, he went back to the ledge to see the other person crouched by the body attempting to communicate with the body. One of the people standing moved and crouched next to the body, seemingly asking a question before Smitty saw the body’s eyes close. Standing in disbelief, he missed the other people packing up and almost missed the salute given to him by the man with a scarf.

Face burning with embarrassment, he fled back down to the ground level and hurried back to the two units milling around, waiting for Torchwood or whatever to finally leave. Feeling himself being pushed into a nearby cop car by one of the unit leaders, he saw the black SUV tearing out of the area, heading to god knows where. Settling back in the seat, he pondered if he was willing to investigate the group, or if he would leave it be.

Shrugging, he made his decision.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

It should have been an easy investigation.

There were people being reported missing left and right at the pier and as a result, Smitty had been assigned to the group sent out to try and figure out the problem. The group was quite small and the pier quite large, so the leader decided to split everyone up to search their assigned area for any possible clues.

Reaching his area, Smitty huffed. The leader clearly didn’t like him and as a result, sent him to the area farthest from where they parked the vehicles. Walking around, Smitty frowned as he heard a low growl coming from the nearby plants. Carefully walking over, he got close before he heard the sound of something rustling the foliage beside where Smitty was trying to head to. Turning his head for a moment, he could make out a figure running towards where Smitty heard the noise. Hearing another voice, a whine, and then a low growl, Smitty kept his attention on the area and was rewarded by seeing the man with the scarf from last night walking out of the bushes, brushing off what Smitty assumed to be dirt. Quickly and quietly returning to his job, he missed the smirk the figure gave him before the person ran back into the bushes.

Returning to the vehicles to regroup with the team when he heard the radio crackle, Smitty frowned as he tried to figure out what happened in the bushes, and who the person was. Once work was over and he returned home, he decided to take a walk and clear some of his thoughts, especially those that had something to do with Torchwood and the mystery man. Lost in thought, Smitty was walking to one of his favorite stores when he overheard a woman by the cake shop complaining to someone over the phone in a loud voice.

“-and you know what he said? ‘I’ve got an emergency and can’t make it.’! Unbelievable! Just because I mentioned the name Torchwood, he decided that he suddenly couldn’t make the delivery! Ooh, the nerve of that boy!” The woman wailed, causing Smitty to perk up in interest. While he would love to walk in and tell her that he would happily make the delivery, he was suspicious of the timing. He needed to do more research on Torchwood before making a move, and even then he needed to make a solid plan. Swiftly turning around, he almost ran back to his home and locked the door. Hurrying over to his computer, he logged into the special police database for off-site searches. While not as in-depth as the one in the station, Smitty hoped it would be helpful and shed some light.

Beginning by searching up ‘Torchwood’, he was pleasantly surprised that the files could be accessed, regardless of whether there was actually any information in them. Clicking on the first one, Smitty found the name of the leader, someone only placed on the records as ‘Anax Jonathan Dennis’. There was no information listed under his name except for the fact that he ran Torchwood 3, it didn’t list when he started leading. Ignoring the specific number, Smitty clicked out of that file and clicked on the next one. Continuing this, Smitty found no more information on the leader nor the team, though there had been something slightly promising with a small footnote on a file about Torchwood 1 that said someone from their building had been transferred to Torchwood 3, however there was no name. There was little information on the location, though in what seemed like a footnote made by an officer, a suspicion was cast on an area by the giant fountain close to the city.

Leaning back in his chair, Smitty pondered about what he could do with the information. On one hand, he could just go on with his life and not think about Torchwood and keep his focus on getting a promotion. On the other hand, he could quench his thirst for knowledge and go substitute for the delivery boy conveniently out. Making up his mind, Smitty turned off the computer and began to go to bed, briefly wishing for a roommate to share his home with.

\--------

Waking up, Smitty felt refreshed, which immediately put him on edge. He almost never woke up feeling well, and if he did, there was most likely something bad that would happen that day. Rolling over, he checked the time and groaned. It was about 12 in the afternoon, which meant he had overslept by about an hour. Hurrying in getting dressed, Smitty went to his computer and began to do some work that would be needed later. Occasionally he got up to make something or grab a drink, but otherwise stayed mostly in his seat. When he heard the clock ring 2 times, he got up and began to get ready for his job.

His shift was much earlier than usual, and Sitty took this as either a sign from the gods that he should go with his infiltration scheme, or that his co-workers were just beginning to get lazier and lazier. Finishing up work at 7 was a godsend, as it was rare that his shift ended early. Smitty made sure to check that he had everything he might need if the plan went bad, and then headed towards his home. Parking the car, he got out and immediately began walking to the shop that he heard the complaints from. Gently pushing the door in, he jumped a little when he heard a bell softly chime.

“Hello, what can I get for you?” A soft voice asked, causing Smitty to regain focus. Hesitantly, he walked to the counter.

“Uh, hi. I really hope this isn’t a bother, but my friends decided to dare me into being a delivery boy for a night, and I was wondering if you had anything I could do?” He asked quietly, making sure to keep his gaze on the counter.

“Oh! Um, yeah, we have something you could deliver. Do you have experience delivering cakes at all?” The girl asked, causing Smitty to look up and see her going to the back of the store, presumably to get the cake.

“Oh, can’t say I have. Sorry.” He said, shrugging in feigned embarrassment.

“That’s ok. Just make sure you keep it in a cold part of your car or something and obviously, don’t drop the box!” She joked, coming back and handing over a large white box that caused Smitty to tilt slightly forwards, surprised at the weight.

“Uh, yeah, ok. Thanks a bunch for letting me do this, my friends are kinda assholes.” Smitty said, the girl giving a nod of understanding.

“Don’t worry about it, just bring it over to the building with the candle in the window, over by the fountain, good luck!” She responded, giving a cheery wave, turning to the phone at the counter and picking it up and dialing a number.

Smitty walked out of the shop and began heading towards the fountain, letting out a sigh of relief. It was a risky gamble, but it paid off. It was suspicious that the girl would just let him deliver a cake, but he would take the opportunity for what it was.

Finally reaching the correct building, he took a deep breath before pushing the door open, slightly struggling with the cake box taking up both of his hands. Glancing around, he noticed it was a _papeterie_ , the English word for it escaping his brain. Before he could take more than a cursory glance around, someone walked out from behind a beaded curtain.

He was wearing jeans, a white dress shirt, a bright red jacket, and a pair of odd boots, and he had a hairstyle that looked like he was trying to grow out. Grinning shyly, Smitty didn’t even open his mouth before the man raised an eyebrow and pressed something on the inside of the counter. Hearing a soft swoosh noise, Smitty turned around and saw an opening in the wall that hadn’t been there previously. Spinning around in surprise, the only thing he heard the man say was, “Well, go on then.”

Nodding nervously, Smitty began to make his way down the stairs.

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

The stairwell wasn’t as long as Smitty imagined it would be, and he soon came to a giant cog of some kind that rolled away once he got near it. Smitty walked into the room slowly, admiring the architecture. The ceiling of the room was high, with what looked to be a glass dome at the top that somehow showed a bright blue sky. The giant tower in the middle gleamed, with a thin layer of water flowing down into a hole in the floor. He heard a squawk and turned in that direction, spotting a giant bird nesting in a rafter above. Tearing his gaze away from the room, his eyes settled on the occupants

The first person he saw had brown hair and was seated at a desk on a floor a bit lower than the entrance. The striking thing about them was a grey bandana around their eyes, with a black symbol on it that was too far away for Smitty to see.

The next person was seated at a desk full of computers and electronics. From what Smitty could make out from behind the tall, main monitor was blond hair. The person was blocked by the equipment, so there was little to see. Smitty briefly wondered if that was on purpose before he heard a soft sound.

Turning to look at the third person, Smitty inhaled a little bit. The person wasn’t blocked by anything and was close enough for Smitty to make out his features. He had short brown hair, but a flash of light from his hands gave Smitty an assumption that he might wear rings, or at the very least something metal. But what kept his attention was the small shaking he could see. A few seconds went by, and then the man burst out laughing, clutching his sides as he fell forwards slightly. This seemed to cause the others to do so as well, causing Smitty’s confusion to grow.

“God, that was so hard! I give up!” The man shouted, bursting into another fit of giggles. The person behind the screens laughed, rolling their chair away from the desk to swat the giggling man on the arm, hand slightly covering their mouth. With the new position, Smitty could see that the man had blond tips with brown hair at the roots, and black glasses.

“Damn it John! If you could have held on a little longer!” The person with the bandana said, throwing their hands in the air, laughing a bit.

“Alright children, calm down a bit.” A new voice said, coming from higher up. Smitty looked up and saw the familiar man with the scarf he had been trying to find information on. The man walked towards the steps around the tower and after disappearing for a bit, reappeared and slid down the railing, grinning.

“Which one of you dumbasses actually ordered a cake under the name Torchwood?” The person who Smitty had found out was called Jon said, raising an eyebrow at the three other people in the building.

The person who Smitty guessed was the other John grinned a little sheepishly, raising a hand. “Sorry not sorry, but that would be me. If you didn’t forget, number two local dumbass here.” John winked at Smitty, who smiled back a bit confused.

“Then who’s number one?”

“Well, I’d say definitely you, but Craig is slowly climbing the pole, so ask me again later.” John said, throwing a grin at the newly-named Craig, getting an eye-roll in return.

“Gee, thanks. Now that you losers are done, I’ll take this one on a little tour. Follow me. Actually, wait a moment. Evan!” Jon yelled, causing Smitty to back away a little in fright.

“Yes boss?” A soft voice from behind him said, causing Smitty to let out a small squeak. Turning around, he saw the guy from earlier who let him into the secret stairwell.

“Take the cake up to the meeting room, and make sure you save a slice for yourself, of course.” Jon said, gesturing to the box.

Meekly, Smitty held out the box to Evan who took it from him and headed somewhere on the other side of the building while Smitty turned back around and followed Jon, who had started moving.

“So,” Jon started, walking slowly to let Smitty take a close look around, “Sergeant Jaren Smith, goes by the name Smitty on and off the field, lives alone and occasionally goes to the local bars around town on Saturday, am I right?” Jon asked, smirking at Smitty who just froze.

“Uh, yeah, that’s all right.” He mumbled, glancing down nervously, his courage abandoning him.

“That’s all, just gotta make sure our info gathering isn’t too shabby, especially since we don’t do it often for live people. Now, why don’t I properly introduce you to the team, well, without you actually speaking to them about themselves.” Coming to a stop, Jon waved Smitty closer to the railing to let him look out at the main area.

“The one who ordered the cake is John. Same name, different spelling, kinda confusing, I know. He’s our medical officer and a field agent, along with being an occasional administrator. Kinda prickly, that one, but great one you get to know him. Gotta adjust to his humor a bit, especially when out in the field.” Smitty tried to look a bit closer, but Jon directed his attention to the next member.

“The one behind all the computers is Craig. Lovely guy, devotes most of his time to technology, has plenty of degrees in the field. He’s our tech guy, handles coordinating our cases and updating out equipment. Sometimes he’ll come out into the field if we really ask him. A bit shy at first, but he’s really a personality once he gets used to you.”

“The one with the bandana on his face is Ryan. Nice guy, a little cool around the edges but he’s a great field agent and he’s our weapons master. While he doesn’t upgrade them like Craig does, he finds the little things that make them easier to use. He’s made a few things himself, which is really neat.

Jon then pointed to Evan who was emerging from where he went with the cake out of its box and on a tray.

“Now him. Evan’s our resident Archivist and yes, the a is capitalized there. He’s our go-to man for pretty much everything, from files that need to be found to a nice coffee if we’re feelin' a little stressed. Helluva field agent when he can get him to go out in the field with us. He’s a little closed off from us, so there are things _I_ don’t even know about, but he’s nice when we talk to him. His domain is the Archives, and none of us really have the guts to go down there.” Jon sighed a little wistfully as Evan entered what Smitty assumed to be the meeting room. Blinking and seemingly remembering that Smitty was still there, he ushered him away from the railing.

“Now, let me actually show you around, alright?” Jon asked, not expecting an answer. Smitty could only nod as he followed him.

\--------

“So, you hunt aliens?”

“Yeah.”

“And you find alien technology and keep it?”

“Yes to that also.”

“So you aren’t a special-ops like everyone says? Well, I mean, like military special-ops.”

“Nope, though I wouldn’t put it past Evan to have training for that. Torchwood 1 was a whole lotta stuff.”

“Right.” Smitty just stared down at his cocktail, suddenly wishing to have at least drank some of it. However, upon closer inspection, he could see a small glitter of something in it, something that Smitty assumed wasn’t originally there, seeing as he had ordered this specific cocktail before and had never seen glitter in it. Scrunching his eyebrows, he took a little sip of it, figuring that if it was poison, it wouldn’t be as lethal as if he drank the whole thing.

“So, why are you telling me this? I mean, even if it isn’t special-ops, you probably wouldn’t want a Sergeant running around the station with information like this.”

“You’re right, which is why I took the liberty to Retcon your drinks.” Jon stated, tossing back his own as Smitty looked shocked.

“What the hell is that?” He asked, making sure to put the glass back on the counter, not wanting to touch it anymore. Jon rolled his eyes a bit, leaning back on the stool.

“It just means that you won’t remember anything we’ve said tonight. Now, why don’t you go home and get a good night's sleep, yeah?” He asked, grinning a bit as Smitty scrambled off his stool and went for the door.

Racing home, Smitty immediately got out a piece of paper and pulled up a blank document on his computer. Taking only a few seconds, he began to write about what he had seen and heard while in the Torchwood base.

Occasionally blinking out of drowsiness, he managed to finish both documents off with a _Memory Pill!!_ note. Satisfied, he blinked sleepily at his computer, unable to move back in shock when the document was completely wiped. Head down on his desk, he briefly complimented himself on remembering to leave paper notes before giving in to the darkness.

\--------

“Hey, did you do it?” Jon’s voice asked, bringing Evan out of his thoughts.

“Yes, the document is wiped, and any save file is gone.” He confirmed, spinning in his chair a little bit.

“Great. Hopefully the Retcon we gave him will be enough to keep him away. Nice kid, but I think he’d do better in the force.”

“Actually boss, you decided on the amount of Retcon to give him. You know very well he’s going to remember.” Evan said, rolling his eyes at the laugh he got.

“Yeah, well, team effort. You can go to sleep a bit early, I’m feelin' up to holding out the fort tonight.”

“Thanks boss. Goodnight.” Evan said, hand reaching up to turn off the comm.

“Ok, wow, cold. Goodnight Evan.” Jon said before the low hum of a disconnected comm link was all Evan heard. Letting out a deep breath, he rolled over to his other computer, one that he made sure wasn’t bugged by his well-meaning coworker or boss. Pulling up a small blue window, he typed in a password and connected to the database he wanted to get into.

Looking sadly at the pictures he pulled up, he made a whispered promise, one he had been repeating since he found their files.

“Guys, I promise I’ll find you again, no matter what it takes.”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys we're halfway there i know its slow but please put up with heavy exposition


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

Smitty jolted up when his alarm went off, squinting against the harsh light coming in from the windows. Confused, he looked at where he was lying and realized he was sleeping at his desk, the dark computer screen bringing a twinge of something which he just brushed off.

Stretching, he briefly looked over to where he kept his notepad, frowning when he noticed it was missing from its usual spot. Slowly getting out of the chair, he wandered around the room, giving a feeble attempt of trying to find it when he noticed it sticking under a file.

Pulling it out, Smitty looked at the ripped paper remains on it in confusion, trying to wake up his sluggish brain to try and remember when he tore out a page. Giving up, he took the notepad into the kitchen and made some coffee, indulging in the one hour he had before he needed to go into work and choosing to ignore any papers that he needed to look at before he went in.

Once his coffee was finished and he was feeling a little more alive, he went back into his study and tried to look for the missing paper. He finally found it, hidden below the desk and a little wrinkled. Bringing it to the top of the desk, he tried to smooth it out before giving up and reading what was on it.

“What the hell is this?” He asked out loud, nose scrunching up in confusion. It was a bunch of bullet points with odd notes, ones that seemed as if he was drunkenly writing down something he heard from a colleague. The last bullet put a halt to his thoughts.

“Memory Pill?” He murmured with an eyebrow raised in skepticism before a pounding headache knocked him off his feet and caused him to fall to the floor harshly. Groaning in pain, he tried to pull himself back up but it was to no avail. Grimacing, he lowered himself to the floor again and waited for the pain to pass, a thought in the back of his mind telling him that he better not be late for work. Feeling the pain growing in intensity, he resigned to passing out, which happened a few minutes later.

Opening his eyes to the bright sunlight wasn’t the best way to soothe the pain still lingering. After waiting a few moments, Smitty was finally strong enough to lift himself off the ground. Blinking at the piece of paper on the desk with his bullet points, his memories came back, causing his eyes to close in an attempt to help with the black dots filling his vision. Breathing out, he remembered to look at the clock and he felt relief at the fact that he wouldn’t be late for work.

Tucking his note into one of his pockets he hurried to get ready for the day and after transferring the paper to his coat pocket, he drove to the station, a thousand thoughts running through his mind. Pulling into the station, he checked to make sure the paper was still his pocket and when confirmed, he got out and went to his office, mindful of the officers coming and going.

“Hey Smitty, would you mind checking something out?” He heard an officer ask, almost seconds after he got himself situated at his desk.

“Yeah, what’s up?” He asked, following the office to one of the closer meeting rooms.

“Remember the on-going case about the people being murdered with no evidence? The case that is kinda one of our top priorities? Well, some of our guys managed to calculate the shape and sketch the potential weapon used. We’re askin’ everyone in the station if they recognize the knife.”

Smitty nodded and walked into the room, a few others standing on the sides and looking intently at the sketch smack-dab in the middle of the whiteboard. Getting close, he tried to keep his eyes from widening in recognition. As soon as he saw it, he remembered it lying on one of the tables in Torchwood, the memory rushing back to him.

_“See this? The gauntlet and the knife came as a packaged deal and Ryan has decided he wants to crack the mystery behind them.” Jon said, hand waving over the two objects as Ryan briefly turned around to his computer and typed in something. Smitty could see some odd marks on the knife, and the scent of polish faintly hit his nose. “Odd-looking, aren’t they?”_

Blinking back to the present, he shrugged his shoulders in an attempt to seem confused.

“Sorry man, I’ve never seen it before. Rather odd design for a knife, with the two smaller bits coming off the main blade.” Smitty said, in an attempt to sound more curious.

“Yeah, no offense but I wouldn’t expect you to have recognized it. You can go back to work now, but tell Matt to come here.”

Smitty nodded, and after walking out of the room and into the hall, he let out a deep breath. He figured that as soon as his shift ended, he would try and go to Torchwood, just to see if they would give up the knife and maybe help the police solve the case. Entering his office, he told Matt to go to the meeting room and then sat at his desk, staring at the blank computer screen until one of his co-workers hesitantly asked him if he was ok. Snapping out of his trance, he nodded his head and once the person went back to their work, he let out another breath before finally working.

\--------

Getting out of his chair and stretching once his shift was over was nice until he remembered his plan. Grimacing slightly, Smitty laid out the pros and cons before finally giving in and realizing that if he overthought it he wouldn’t do it. Saying goodnight to those still in the office, he made his way to his car and got in it.

Driving helped settle his mind and by the time he reached the plaza, he hesitated for about three seconds before he gathered his courage and got out of the car. As soon as he got within a few feet of the fountain, he could feel a glare focused on him. Lifting his head, he saw a figure close to the fountain, with a knife shining in their hand. Nervously getting closer, he identified the person as Ryan who had his bandana off and wrapped around his neck, his newly revealed brown eyes glaring into his. Putting his hands up and slowing his walk, Smitty tried to think of a plan quickly. Something very dangerous might happen and while he was a Sergeant, that didn’t mean he couldn’t be scared.

“Well, look who showed up.” Ryan said coldly as Smitty came to a stop, far enough away that Ryan would have to lunge to stab him.

“Uh, were you expecting me?” Smitty asked nervously, keeping his eyes on Ryan.

“Not particularly, but there was the potential for you to break the Retcon and come looking around here again. Jon isn’t known to be particularly good at administering Retcon.” Ryan said, raising an eyebrow when Smitty just blinked.

“Either way, you must know what I’ve been trying to do with the glove. If you remember the knife, you remember the little explanation Jon gave you about my research. Well, as it turns out, the glove works the best when the body is freshly dead. This knife also helped out quite a lot. After all, one can only work so long with long-dead bodies before you need fresh ones.” Ryan continued, flipping the knife around in his hand.

“So it was you who was killing those people, wasn’t it?” Smitty asked, needing confirmation that the person who Jon said was a nice guy just the day before was killing people just to get results for his research. Ryan scoffed, dropping the knife and pulling out a gun, pointing it at Smitty.

“Do I need to spell it out for you? Yes, it was me. Turns out if I use the knife to kill the person and then use the glove, the glove is easier to use. Makes sense, since we found them at the same location. Of course, I can’t have the rest of the team finding out about this, so either do me a favor and drop dead, or you won’t like what will happen.” Ryan said, eyes cold.

Out of the corner of his vision, Smitty spotted two figures coming up behind Ryan, however, due to the lack of light he couldn’t make them out. Hoping they got to Ryan in time, he barely had time to think before he ducked, Ryan apparently being generous and giving him a warning shot. As plans ran through his mind, he flinched as one of the figures jumped in front of him moments before the second shot rang out, the person hitting the ground as the other succeeded in subduing Ryan by pulling on his bandana, causing him to choke and drop the gun.

Once Smitty got over his shock, he quickly bent down and saw that the person who jumped in front of him was Jon, a small mark through his clothing the only sign of a wound, however, the sightless eyes confirmed his death. Staring in shock, he snapped out of it only when he saw Jon gasp and his eyes clear. Lifting Jon's upper body by the shoulders, he looked towards where Ryan and the other person were and noticed that they were gone. Looking back down, he saw Jon smile at him tiredly.

“So, I take it you have some questions?”

\--------

“So, what you’re telling me is that you’re immortal?” Smitty asked, the two of them sitting on a nearby bench.

“Yep. Not sure why, but it's been that way for a while. Just gotta find the right kinda doctor to tell me what’s goin’ on.” Jon said, looking at the sky.

“Ok, right. Anything else?” Smitty asked, leaning back into the bench in an attempt to get more comfortable.

“Yeah. Would you like a job? You got the reflexes, the knowledge, all you need are the fun little tools and it’ll be like the Holy Trinity or somethin’. Otherwise, I’ll have to make sure you actually don’t remember us. Speaking of which, how did you get all your memories back? I know I’m not that bad at giving Retcon.” Jon asked, looking at Smitty in confusion.

“Uh, I wrote it down. I wanted to make sure I had two copies, I guess. But about that job, I guess I can take it. It’s not like I have a relationship to hold me back, nor do I have a roommate, so I’m kinda free to do whatever.” Smitty said, shrugging.

“Huh. Gotta tell Evan that just in case someone else gets that idea. Smart.”

\--------

"Hey Evan, one of our co-workers is gonna snap and try to kill the guy I showed around yesterday, can you do something to fix it? Yeah, sure, why don't I solve death while I'm at it?" Evan grumbled as he carried Ryan down to the med bay, placing him a bit roughly onto the exam table, securing his limbs, and then searching through John's surprisingly organized drawers for some Level 6 liquid Retcon. Letting out a small "aha!" once he found some, he quickly found a needle as well. Before putting it in, he went up to John's computer and tried to modify the Retcon to alter any memories relating to the gauntlet, knife, and murders committed. Racing back down the stairs when he heard Ryan let out a small groan, he quickly put the Retcon into the needle and injected it, putting a bandaid over the mark to try and help him with an excuse as to why Ryan was in the med bay.

The waiting game was one Evan could play well and he was rewarded when he heard Ryan stirring. Quickly undoing the restraints, he left to get a glass of water and returned to find Ryan blinking lazily on the table.

"Here, if you want some." Evan said, offering the glass to Ryan who took it after a bit of hesitation.

"What happened? Why am I in the med bay?" Ryan asked quietly, slowly sipping the water.

"You had a nasty encounter with an alien device and for your safety, agreed to have Retcon administered to forget the memories." Evan smoothly lied, only feeling a little guilty when Ryan looked scared.

"How, uh, bad was it that I needed Retcon?" He asked, nervousness increasing as Evan tried to find an explanation.

"Let's say you did some things that you would deeply regret." He finally said, knowing that would only increase Ryan's fears. "Listen, we all solved it and Jon isn't very mad with you, so why don't I bring you home and let you take a few days off, yeah?" He asked, taking the empty glass and putting it to the side in order to help Ryan off the table.

"Yeah, that's fine. Um, was there anything urgent I was working on?" Ryan asked, beginning to calm down a bit more.

"Not really, anything that you were working on can be taken by any of us, so it's no big deal. Why didn't I get your stuff and I can drive you home, ok?" Evan asked, letting Ryan adjust to standing while he quickly grabbed the glass.

"That'd be great. Thanks Evan." Ryan said, causing Evan to blink in surprise before he forced a smile on his face.

"No problem."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Episode 1 is finished! As you can see, I'm making some changes from canon, so I'm hopefully not going to be just re-writing the series but adding something new and changing things up.


End file.
